Introduction

Abstract

Since the second half of the twentieth century, Sudan has been ravaged by a series of civil wars. The first phase of the north-south civil war in Sudan started in 1955 and ended with the signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972 between the central government and the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM). The second phase of the north-south civil war began in 1983 and ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the National Islamic Front (NIF) government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Niavasha, Kenya, on January 9, 2005.1 The conflict in Darfur began in February 2003 and continues today.